Anyone else wish they had a dining table for special occasions

[Meetmeunderthemoonlight]

Happy Easter 🐣

Just going to make beef and red wine stew for dinner tonight, chucking everything in the slow cooker as trying to have a low effort relaxing day. It's made me realise again how much I would love to have a dining table for occasions like Easter, Christmas, Valentine's, Birthdays. My house is small with no room for one, but oh how I would love to set a table to sit at for nice occasions. Just having a slight moan really.

https://www.stemprotect.co.uk/mind-your-manners-over-half-of-pre-school-children-cant-use-a-knife-and-fork/

Here

Does lack of a dining table equate to a lack of manners?

That really does surprise me given that people manage to fit 2 person tables in to tiny homes and caravans!
I figured most places could fit a tiny collapsible one even if it means rearranging some other furniture.
I suppose you just have to decide what it more important though. I have a tiny house and have a single day bed downstairs, visitors either have to perch on my bed or sit on a 'comfy' wooden chair!!LOL

How does this correlate to having no space for a dining table?

I don’t think i could live without a table, i have mine in my living room as there is no room in the kitchen, we keep it tucked in out the way and pull it out at dinner time, unless we are doing takeaway then we sit on the sofas xx

If you read the link I just posted , you will see that a lack of dining table is a significant factor
Children are served food they either eat sitting on the floor or on the sofa with their fingers.
They dont learn to use cutlery/ table manners
You can carry on flinging insults and being defensive,it doesnt change the facts

Oh I like the sound of the day bed.

😆😆😆😆😆😆

oh wait, did I get the wrong end of the stick with this thread?
Is it about eating at a table or having enough space to have room specially dedicated to dining? (something small home owners rarely get to do!).
If so I get it....Ive always been jealous of people who have proper hallways and landings. Not front doors that open into your living room and a tiny space at the top of the stairs with doors off of it!😁

It's amazing what you can live with when you have no choice.

https://www.mobilifiver.com/eu/en/easy-extendable-console-table-with-extension-leaves-holder-45-305-x-90-cm-rustic-oak/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PMax_UK_ENG_Categories_Top%20-%20Supertop&utm_id=23616736020&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23622230879&gbraid=0AAAAACwhxieYFIGa5Scy_S3PNx20IctJ6&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyZXYmejWkwMVR49QBh3wrRdbEAQYBSABEgJbT_D_BwE Maybe something like this? I am planning to get one myself, then you would only have to pull it out for special occasions xx

That's your privilege showing. I have lived in places with no room for a table and have friends now who don't. One of my friends has a table that is literally in the middle is the living room in front of the sofa and underneath the TV. It looks pretty awkward but it's the only place for one. However ideally that space would just have a rug.

Lots of flats and houses are very small.

Can’t imagine not having a table, we eat at the kitchen table every day then on occasions like today we use the dinning room. During the winter we have Sunday lunch at the dinning table just to make it a bit special, I think it’s also an opportunity to teach the children good table manners using the napkins and good silver etc instead of just the kitchen things.

when we were first married we didn’t have room, the front door went straight into the living room which was tiny. We had a gate leg table that lived on the landing, we we had guests we would push back all the furniture to make room and carry they table down the chairs were wooden folding ones which lived in the loft ! We didn’t entertain much 😀

True, i could also have more space in my living room but with 5 kids kinda need a table to eat dinner at, even with 2 3seater sofas there isn’t enough space for everyone to sit and eat- don’t really want the kids sat on the floor eating so yes i choose to forgo living room space for a table xx

This is amazing! We have a dining room but I prefer to use it for other things, this looks perfect! Thanks for sharing.

Gate leg tables fold up really small and can open out for 4 people. They dont take uo mich floor space at all. Might be worth looking into? Or ypu cab get wall mounted fold down ones which take even less space up.

Do people not think that everyone would like a dining table, especially those with children?
Unfortunately just wanting something doesn't give you the ability to have it.
Being poor is not a moral flaw.

It’s nothing to do with privilege. Many people seem to prioritise a sofa over a table. For me a table comes second only to a bed. When I was little I lived in a very small flat and we didn’t have a sofa but we did have a table to eat.

Mumsnet at it best thank, you all for the links will check them out. I didn't think about games when making my post but yes playing monopoly at a table rather than on the floor would be much better.

@Perfidia there are four of us, sometimes it can be eight.

@TheStepboardisfullofbitteroddos @confusedeffie we eat on our laps sitting on the couch.

@anrom1969 thank you, yes I have Easter eggs discovered Peaky blinders and binge watched during the week, watching the film now.

To be honest I didn't know you could get fold down tables. I did have a spare bedroom that could have been used as a dining room but we made that into dh bedroom. I decorated my sitting room last year and went for minimalist with a big massive couch. Thinking now maybe should have bought a smaller couch and put in a table also, but at the time I didn't want a permanent table. I really like the idea of a table we can store away and bring out as needed.

Ive been fortunate in that I have always lived in a house where there has been a table.

Grew up in a house with no bathroom, out side loo and a coal fire, but there was still a table

My first studio flat = double bedroom sized living room, with a cupboard size kitchen and a small bathroom, I still had a table, gate legged , seated two at a pinch -( even if the room didnt :) Single bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, table and 2 chairs and one easy chair and an old kitchen cupboard as a sideboard

When the kids were growing up and we had a house that could hold a proper table, it was mayhem. I worked from home, so one end was my paperwork, then daughter would come home, she would do her homework, and everything got shoved to one end and we sat at the other

Ok so now Im old and have a good sized home and there's just the two of us, we still sit at the table. Only saturday night do we eat sitting on the sofa cos its usually a bowl meal - spaghetti Bol or similar

OP as another poster has said, there's a lot of clever furniture around that has double uses , may be worth looking at ?

So, you have more than enough room for a dining table, as most people not living in a van do, but chose alternative living arrangements

We had a van- it had a table haha 😂 xx

@Westfacing I never mentioned anything like that in my post as usual on mumsnet a lot was added on and presumed.

@Avie29 🚚🤣

Does it open as easily as in the video? It looks fab

Apologies if this has already been said ( I read up to page 3, but have to shoot off now 😀), have you considered a fold up catering table? Could be stored under your sofa when not needed. Either use with a mixture of spare chairs/stools/ any old thing or cheap fold-up outdoor chairs.
There is a lady on instagram (tohavetohost) who uses them a lot and they look brilliant when decorated.